Happy Halloween!

I’m not a big holiday person, or even a big Halloween person. I don’t love the macabre or horror or enjoy being frightened, or frightening others.

But I do like trick or treating. And I don’t even love candy—I love the community aspect of going out and knocking on doors and meeting neighbors, and running into other families.

Above is a pic from Halloween 1979; I was five (I’m on the left) and my brother Tyler was three, in our wrinkly plastic Marvel costumes. We were just settled into the house in West Tisbury where I would spend most of my childhood, but it was too far out in the woods to trick or treat with neighbors.

So we’d drive to Vineyard Haven—where we had lived in two different rental houses from 1977–79—and walk the “old” neighborhood there, and I have the fondest memories of carrying our bags of candy and Unicef boxes: “Trick or treat for Unicef!” It was a real slice of Americana—white picket fences and brown oak leaves on the ground.

Now as an adult I’m able to have that experience again, walking with my wife and our twin girls (in third grade this year) a block over to a lovely street of friendly neighbors in our L.A. suburb. I dress up in the same Captain Kirk shirt I’ve had for some 20 years—I learned that Captain Kirk is a great Halloween costume because it’s super easy and doesn’t need makeup—and it’s really the most delightful time.

So that will be our evening, and I hope you have fun, too!

P.S. A funny story from the dinner table last night: There is a street in our area that’s infamously the BIG treat or treat block—people drive from all over and it’s supposed to be a zoo. I asked the kids if they wanted to check it out this year. One of them said, “I dunno, there might be cops there.” I was thinking, wow the kids are so grown up, talking in slang—so worldly and big!

A few minutes later: “Dada...what are cops?”

Have fun, everybody!